Derailleur revolution

It was the drop heard 'round the world. Who could forget the infamous chain drop during stage 15 of the 2010 Tour de France? Andy Schleck dropped his SRAM Red chain as he attacked Alberto Contador on the climb of the Port de Bales, and witnessed his Tour hopes ride away while frantically struggling at the side of the road to get his chain back on the ring. Fans watched as the young Luxembourger wrestled with his chain, and SRAM feverishly took notes. It mattered little, regardless of whether or not it was the fault of their Red derailleur or chain. It simply couldn't happen again. So in the aftermath of the tour, SRAM engineers reimagined and redesigned an optimal solution to ensure a mechanical would never again dictate the fate of one of its sponsored riders -- or you. From the ashes of Andy's disappointing tour defeat rises the vastly improved SRAM Red Front Derailleur with Yaw Technology, and its included Chain Spotter.

What exactly is SRAM's Yaw technology, and how does it apply to their new Red Front Derailleur? Borrowing from the principles of an aircraft's rotational movements across a single axis, yaw dictates fore and aft lateral movement, pitch is the opposing vertical movement, and roll is the definitive vertical lean, from one side of the axis to the other. Rather than simply moving back and forth across the singular plane like that of a conventional derailleur, the new Red Derailleur is designed to rotate 'like an airplane' along its axis in conjunction with your shifts, preserving an optimal angular alignment with the chain at all times, no matter your gear combination. Because of this, the new SRAM Red Derailleur has done away with the concept of front derailleur trim. This is a revolutionary new design that actively maintains perfect chain alignment while still providing the crisp and punchy actuation that SRAM riders have grown accustomed to.

In the past SRAM saw some of its sponsored riders using the heavier Force Front Derailleur with its stiffer and slightly heavier steel cage that inspired better front shifting confidence under load. So for the new Red, SRAM has maintained that hybrid aluminum cage to preserve the gruppo's weight savings, but has added steel to the alloy blend to provide stiffer, more confident shifts. And as an added precaution, the included Chain Spotter can be elegantly mounted to the derailleur body without any detriment to weight or shifting precision, but the derailleur will function normally without it. Just ask Andy -- a chain keeper is the quintessential illustration of the old adage, 'better to have one and not need it, than need one and not have it.' It adjusts independently of the derailleur, so you'll only know it's there when summoned by a rough patch of road, a possible errant shift, or a completely unfortunate stroke of misfortune at the hands of cycling's powers-that-be.

The SRAM Red Yaw Front Derailleur gets a slight cosmetic upgrade in some new laser-etched graphics and installation markers, and is available a brushed, gunmetal finish. Please bear in mind that due to the redesigned pivots and change in cable pull, this derailleur is not compatible with previous generation SRAM Red Shifters. It is optimized for use with SRAM X Glide R Chainrings. It is available in a clamp size of 31.8mm or 34.9mm, or in a braze-on style.

Works perfectly. I am running that setup right now and every shift is right on. No dropped chains either. My rear derailleur is the Aero Glide shortcage. The WiFli medium cage version has a recall. If you have that one, send it in for a replacement.

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Best thing SRAM has engineered to date

I am not blowing smoke with that statement. This finally puts an end to "Chain Gate" forever. My front shifts are faster and cleaner than electronic shifting. The only drawback is that this thing allows you to cross-chain so well you might break a chain if you are not paying attention cause you won't be reminded by the grinding of your front derailleur.